“I simply cannot praise your solicitor enough. He had a very professional yet friendly approach towards us and handled my nephew’s situation efficiently. The advice he gave, was also very useful as sometimes my nephew, myself and the general public are not aware of in terms of their legal rights.”

“My previous solicitors were pushing me to enter a guilty plea for a crime I never actually committed. Had I not been represented by Stephen Lickrish & Associates I would have been in Her Majesty’s custody at this moment in time – I do not intend on meeting anymore people in need of legal representation but I can honestly say that if I did I would know where to send them.”

“I was very impressed by the level of professionalism of your solicitors. I am obviously very happy with the result of my recent case and I believe that it would have been very hard to achieve this outcome without such diligence and guidance on your part and with the team you assembled.”

The offence of sexual assault (by touching) is a serious and criminal offence. If you are accused of sexual assault, the Prosecution must prove that:

You have intentionally touched another person,

That the touching is sexual,

That the other person did not consent to you touching them, and

You did not reasonably believe that the other person was consenting.

Sexual assault by touching is an either-way offence. This means that it can be heard by either the Magistrates Court or the Crown Court. Because of the complex nature of the evidence and the likely sentence if you are convicted, these cases virtually always are heard by the Crown Court.The maximum that can be imposed for this offence is 10 years imprisonment, if the victim is aged 13 or over. For offences involving victims under the age of 13, please follow this link.

The circumstances of offences of sexual assault are always very complicated and it is vital that these are considered fully in order to properly advise a client. In everyday life there are common examples of accidently touching somebody, often without the consent of that person. Therefore it is important to be able to consider whether there was a sexual motive behind such touching, or whether such contact was intentional.

The issue of whether the contact was sexual will be decided by the Court after considering not only what the Defendant says about his motives, but also what the reasonable person would consider to be sexual. Issues like this can become extremely complicated and it is important that an Instructed Solicitor is capable of taking detailed, but tactful instructions, from a client in order to properly prepare a case.

The final issue that can be key to a successful defence of sexual assault by touching, is the issue of consent. There have been many cases where allegations have been made by individuals who claimed that they had not consented to the actions, but that the suspect genuinely believed they were consenting too. In situations like this, a highly skilled Advocate is needed to present the case to the Court in a way that properly puts forward a client’s defence, without alienating a jury and damaging their client’s credibility.

If you are accused of any sexual offence there is a very real danger of receiving a prison sentence, and your entire life being damaged by the allegation. It is vital that you are represented by someone that you can trust, and who you are confident will do everything in their professional ability to put forward your case in a proper and appropriate manner to ensure that you get the best outcome possible in your circumstances.

We at Stephen Lickrish & Associates Solicitors understand that if you are accused of any sexual offence, it will be a very difficult time for you. We are proud of the professional level of support we offer to all clients who are accused of such offences. We make sure that you have an experienced solicitor that you can speak to at all stages of your case, and that you are represented in Court by a Barrister, or High Court Advocate, who is suitably experienced and qualified to present your case to the Court in the best way.

The Solicitors at Stephen Lickrish & Associates have dealt with clients who are accused of the full range of sexual offences. We act in a professional, discreet and diligent way, and do everything in our professional ability to secure the best outcome in each and every case. If you or someone you know are accused of a sexual offence, contact us to see how we can help you.